Special Collections Library Henry Madden Library
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY HENRY MADDEN LIBRARY CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO TOPOLOBAMPO COLLECTION, 1836-1979 44.75 linear feet ACQUISITION: Part of the collection was donated by Viola Gabriel in 1955. The remainder was donated by Ray Reynolds in 1972. Some photographs were donated by Lois Sinclair in 1990. Various materials were donated by the Kneeland family over the years. ACCESS: The collection is open for research. COPYRIGHT: Copyright to Ira Kneeland’s photographs has been transferred to California State University, Fresno. Copyright to other materials has not been transferred. PHOTOGRAPHS: In boxes 4, 16, 33, 34 and 35. Original glass plate negatives stored in a filing cabinet. PROCESSED BY: Ronald Mahoney and Special Collections staff, 1970s; Linda Sitterding, 1999; Nathan N. Orgill, 2000; Tammy Lau, 2001-2002, and Heather Crowder, 2002. Topolobampo Collection History The Topolobampo cooperative colony was founded at Topolobampo Bay near Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, by a group of American colonists in 1886. The colony was established and governed under a set of idealistic bylaws, predicated on socialistic reforms. The driving force behind the colonization effort was Albert Kimsey Owen (1847-1916). After a brief stint as a civil servant in Chester, Pennsylvania, twenty-four-year-old Owen began working as a surveyor and civil engineer for William J. Palmer and the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. Palmer formed a surveying party, which included Owen, whose mission was to reconnoiter a proposed railroad or surface road to Mexico City in 1872. After reaching Mexico City, Owen was sent to Mexico's west coast to look for promising harbor sites, and there he had his first look at Topolobampo Bay.
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